Unemployed people = people aged 15 years and over who were not employed but were actively looking, and available, for work. Unemployment rate = the number of unemployed people expressed as a percentage of the labour force. Unemployment to population ratio = the number of unemployed people expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged 15 years and over. Participation rate = the labour force expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged 15 years and over.
Source:
Australian Bureau of Statistics Monthly Labour Force Data.
Unemployment and its accompanying health effects are not distributed evenly through the population. Unemployment rates in NSW are highest among people aged less than 25 years, and are higher in rural and regional areas than in urban areas. Over the period 1988 to 2006, unemployment rates among people aged less than 25 years were around double the rates for older people in Sydney and were consistently more than double in the remainder of NSW. The unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds in Sydney peaked at 15.6% in 1992 before declining to 9.2% in 1999 and then rising to 11.1% in 2004, declining again to 9.7 in 2006. For 15-24 year olds in the remainder of NSW, unemployment rates peaked at 21.3% in 1997 but had declined to 12.8 by 2003 after which there was a rise to 13.9 in 2006.
Unemployment rates were also consistently higher outside of Sydney among people aged 25 years and over. The unemployment rate in this age group peaked in 1993 at 8.4% in Sydney and 9.6% in the rest of NSW. It then declined to 3.2% in Sydney in 2000 and 5.0% in the remainder of NSW in 2001 and although there was rise to 4.5% in Sydney and 5.5% in the rest of NSW by 2003 there has since been a decline to 3.5 in Sydney and 4.6% in the rest of NSW.
Overall participation rates changed little over the period shown, for both age groups and in both regions (data not shown).
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This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced
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Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales -
Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at:
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/soc/soc_emplloc.htm. Accessed (insert date of access).
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